Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael)

I acknowledge the presence of the Minister of State, Deputy Haughey, and thank him for sitting in on this debate on a matter which affects our young people. It is important we educate these people on the dangers of drugs, which are a major problem in today's society. Today, in many areas of Ireland, people as young as ten or 11 are using drugs and drinking alcohol, a situation which must be urgently addressed. Early intervention is needed to cover the crucial period during adolescence and early adulthood.

Cocaine abuse has hit a record high, with the drug now the third most commonly used illegal drug in Ireland. There is a shocking report that states that 3% of 15 and 16 year old school children have used cocaine in the past year. Seizures of cocaine in Ireland have increased dramatically, from 206 in 2000 to 1,342 last year.

The shocking incident in Waterford that left three men hospitalised last week highlights the need for a nationwide awareness campaign to focus on the potentially lethal effects of cocaine. The drug is being taken regularly at parties across the country and in many cases is the stimulant of choice in preference to alcohol. People have a personal responsibility to themselves and their health to say no to cocaine. The State has a responsibility to hammer home the lethal risks associated with cocaine, particularly as the drug is increasingly being mixed with other hazardous substances.

We need a nationwide information campaign to highlight the potentially lethal consequences of cocaine use. The Garda Síochána and schools have a major role to play in getting the message out to communities. I call on the Minister to facilitate the daily screening of advertisements on television to portray to people the damage drugs can do. I want to see advertisements on RTE showing the effects an overdose has on an individual as a campaign showing the damage caused by drug taking will reduce the numbers of people sampling drugs.

I commend the work done in this area by the health promotion unit in the Department, which provides informative leaflets on alcohol, drugs, relationships and healthy eating. Schools can access a supply of these leaflets, which are useful for teenagers. Drugs education should feature on a weekly basis on the school curriculum. In secondary schools, students have access to one class a week on social and personal health education. In this class, topics such as alcohol, drugs and relationships are supposed to be addressed.

In many schools not enough time is devoted to these subjects, as demands exist from other disciplines such as career guidance. In addition some teachers do not feel they have the experience or the confidence to deliver information on these topics. Videos should be circulated to all schools highlighting the damage that drugs do to people. An outside body should conduct these weekly classes. I hope this area will not be neglected in the forthcoming budget.

Drugs are rife in our prisons. I welcome the introduction of sniffer drugs in our prisons, as they will help to reduce the number of drugs in our prisons. These dogs should patrol our prisons on a daily basis. However, nothing has been done about the number of drugs being thrown over prison walls. Those responsible for this activity must be laughing at the Government's failure to address this problem. Proper nets need to be installed in our prisons to address this problem. Drugs are being thrown over walls on a daily basis. The 2006 report by the visiting committee to Mountjoy Prison suggested that more CCTV cameras should be provided and an increased Garda presence would help this problem. The committee also asked for nets to be erected, but this has not happened to date.

Facilities for our young people are badly needed. In my constituency of Dublin North-East, many local groups are fighting for facilities for young people. If young people had somewhere to go they would not be so tempted to take drugs. Many organisations in my constituency are doing great work in helping to alleviate the drug problem. I commend KCCP, Kilbarrack Coast Community Programme, which works with 150 recovering drug misusers. KCCP was set up in 1998 to provide aftercare and rehabilitation for those affected by drug addiction.

Does the Government intend to introduce dedicated treatment for people suffering from dual diagnosis? Dual diagnosis is used to refer to drug misusers who have another problem, for example mental illness. Drugs agencies want research done to quantify the numbers of people suffering from dual diagnosis. Ireland has a good policy and students conducting research would be led to believe that Ireland has the situation under control, which is not the case. In reality, there are few resources available and the service is bad. People with drugs problems are offered methadone, but there is no alternative. There are limited opportunities for counselling for drug users. Problematic drug users are not receiving individual programmes. If a drug user drops out of treatment, nobody does anything. Des Corrigan of the national advisory committee on drugs has called for individual programmes to be drawn up for drug users, with which I agree.

The Kilbarrack Coast Community Programme recently published a report entitled Young People and Drugs. The report noted that a majority of young people from urban and working class areas will take cannabis at some point in their lives. Education is badly needed to make young people aware of the dangers. The perception of cannabis as a harmless drug needs to be challenged by accurate information and education. Movie stars and models who appear in daily newspapers should not be allowed to glamorise drugs and cocaine in particular.

The dangers of drug use should be raised in schools on a weekly basis. Unfortunately drugs have taken over too many communities. The Government needs to take the issue seriously and put its money where its mouth is by providing adequate education and resources to help save our young people from drugs.

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